People walk past a picture of the character ‘Monkey King’, or ‘Sun Wukong’ from the Chinese action role-playing game ‘Black Myth: Wukong’, developed by video game company China Game Science, during its launch in Hangzhou, in the east. Zhejiang Province in China on August 20, 2024.
Str Afp | Getty Images
BEIJING – China’s first attempt at a top-tier video game has broken world records, bolstering the industry’s global ambitions just a few years after Beijing’s gaming crackdown.
Black myth: Wukong, an action game set in Chinese mythology, sold more than 10 million units three days after its launch on August 20. Ten days later, the title is still ranked second by revenue in the US, and number 1 worldwide. according to the video game platform Steam where it sells for around $60 or more.
“I think the next triple-A game may be very close, because Black Myth: Wukong has shown everyone that Chinese-made AAA games can achieve high global sales,” said Dino Ying, chairman of Hero Games, which co-published. games and early investors in Game Science developers. That’s according to CNBC’s translation of Mandarin-language comments in an exclusive interview Thursday.
Ying said he is aware of at least one game in development, which his business partner in Hero Games has invested in. But he refused to share the time.
As for how well Black Myth: Wukong has been done, Ying only said that sales have increased by “more” than 10 million units of figures, although he indicated that it has not doubled.
He said that going forward, the company’s game releases will have a global strategy from the start. He also expects foreign AAA game developers to understand how big the Chinese market is and create more features for Chinese players.
AAA games generally refer to titles with high graphic quality and significant marketing. This means that these video games tend to come from companies such as Nintendo, Ubisoft and Electronic Arts.
“China is a big country. We’re talking about 1 million players together,” said Ivan Su, senior equity analyst at Morningstar. “China has 600 million gamers.”
He said that China has not yet made its own AAA games, which are mostly played on computers and consoles, which is a production time of many years. “It’s more expensive if you make a mobile game,” Su said.
Apple Tim Cook visits Hero Games
When Hero Games first invested in Game Science, Apple CEO Tim Cook opened in 2017 and was so impressed with the first game, Art of War: Red Tides, that he gave it the front page of the iOS App store in 178 countries, Ying said.
But it was not a commercial success.
Apple CEO Tim Cook visited the Hero Games offices in 2017 after investing in Game Science, which continues to develop Black Myth: Wukong.
Hero Game
Hero Games had spent three years investing 60 million yuan (about $8.5 million today) in two failed projects from Game Science when the developer approached Ying and his team in August 2020 about Black Myth: Wukong, he said.
“We are very lucky, we did not give up on Game Science before success,” said Ying, noting his business partner Daniel Wu, now CEO of Hero Games, first found the startup.
“We’re not saying wait for everyone blindly,” he said. “When you see talent like that, you have to be sure that it’s not appreciated. It might not find the right direction. (So you just have to) help find it.”
‘The best game I’ve ever seen’
Two days before Game Science planned to release a promotional video for Black Myth: Wukong, the company showed it to Ying and asked the team for at least 100 million yuan, he said. If not, he said the beginning of planning to ask BilibiliChina’s leading video and game streaming platform.
After watching the video, Ying said he told the team that “I really don’t want to miss this opportunity because it’s the best game I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Tencent then bought a 5% stake, but said it would not interfere with Game Science’s plans, said Ying. “Since this is a AAA game, according to the normal process of big business, there is no way it is approved.”
Hero Games’ initial investment in Game Science was 20% stake.
Beijing has only in the past two years since approved games, after suspending new titles and limiting the number of hours minors can play until 2021.
Black Myth: Wukong got Chinese government approval in February. No part of the game needs to be changed to qualify, Ying said.
“Personally, I think over the past two years, the regulation has increased respect for the game industry and is beneficial to its development,” Ying said, noting that a year or two ago, there was a “misunderstanding.”
The market potential is huge
In the first half of this year, domestic game sales in China reached 147.27 billion yuan, said Ashley Dudarenok, founder of China digital consultancy ChoZan, citing industry figures.
But console game revenue is only 0.5% of that, he said.
Ying pointed out that many people in China bought a PlayStation or upgraded their graphics card after the release of Black Myth: Wukong, similar to the number of people who first bought a Nintendo Switch because of Zelda.
Something that’s been around for 1,000 years, people are sure to like
Dino Ying
Hero Games, chairman
As for the global market, Dudarenok said that sales of Chinese-developed games abroad will increase to $16.4 billion in 2023, from $11.6 billion in 2019.
“Chinese games often incorporate rich cultural elements that appeal to a global audience,” he said. “This unique cultural feel sets it apart from games developed in other regions”
Ying said he expects China to have at least five to 10 more stories that have been passed down over the last millennia that can be turned into games.
“If I make something new, I don’t know if people will like it. But if it lasts for 1,000 years, people will like it,” Ying said. “We don’t know why it was preserved for so many years. But we just have to respect the (original) craftsmen.”
He said Game Science sent teams and equipment to ancient temples in China to scan and replicate designs, adding to the game’s immersive feel.
Chinese indie games
In the more niche market of independent games, Chinese companies are also on the rise.
Shanghai-based Cotton Game, which has a staff of 70 people, won the 2024 award for the best development team in indie games from the French-backed Game Connection organization and ChinaJoy, which organizes the main annual game conference in China.
“It depends on our ability, but (we hope) to use games as a way to share art, philosophy and thoughtful content,” said the company’s CEO, who goes by the English name Cotton Guo, in Mandarin translated by CNBC.
Cotton Game’s Sunset Hills – which took five years to draw by hand – also won the “Game of the Year” and “Best Indie Game” awards. The $20 game launched on August 21st on Steam after raising $13,000 on Kickstarter.
The game follows an anthropomorphic dog through a European-like village, accompanied by nature sounds and music. Players solve puzzles along the way.
“Everyone is very tired. In today’s society, the speed of life is very fast,” said Robin Luo, manager of Sunset Games. The main character is based on the dog itself. “So my hope in creating Sunset Hills is that everyone who plays the game will (find it) refreshing.”